GEOL 101

CLASS 18
SPRING 2014
Objectives Chapter 9
Explain the Nebula Theory of the creation of the
Earth and our solar system
List the resulting differences in the geology of
the planets of the solar system
Describe how the internal structure of the Earth
developed and the role of convection in the
development
Define why the formation of continental crust is
less fully understood than oceanic crust
List the probable sources of water on the Earth
Nebula Theory of Earth Formation
Start with Big Bang
End Space today (no worry about
contracting universe)
Big Bang Theory
13.7 billion years ago
Creation of all matter
Hydrogen and Helium the first
More complex elements evolved through
time
2.7 K
Nebula Theory of Earth Formation
Start with Big Bang
End Space today (no worry about
contracting universe)
9 billion years after BB, suns nebula forms
Cloud of dust and a hearty Hi Ho Silver!
Really mostly hydrogen
Spins and contracts, spinning faster Nebular
contraction
Temperature climbs in densifying center

A large gas cloud (nebula) begins to condense
Most of the mass is in the center, there is
turbulence in the outer parts
The Nebular Hypothesis
Gravitational attraction causes the mass of gas
and dust to slowly contract and it begins to rotate
The dust and matter slowly falls towards the
center
The Nebular Hypothesis
Proto-sun
The Nebula Hypotheses
After perhaps100,000 years
Center mass hits a million
degrees C. Protostar born
After sufficient mass and density was achieved in
the Sun, the temperature rose to one million C,
resulting in thermonuclear fusion.
H atom + H atom = He atom + energy
The Proto-Sun
Then: sun is formed, disk cleared
Proto sun heats disk,
driving gas and dust
outward
Moving into cooler
regions, the dust and
gases cool and
condense
Defined orbits of dust
in flattened nebula.
Gas and dust
particles collide and
form planetesimals
Multiple collisions
and accretion into
first planetary
embryos and then
terrestrial planets
Nebula hypothesis: Planet formation
Temperature differences with respect to
distance from sun
Closer, where temperatures are higher, iron
and silicates condense
Farther out is colder hydrogen & water
condense
Material collides and accretes forming
planetesimals (Mac-planets)
The Giant Planets: Jupiter and
Saturn
Primarily of H and He.
More like suns compostion
Small rocky core
Overlain by H and He layers moving from liquid
to gas going out)
First planets to form
Rocky Planets: Mercury, Venus,
Earth, and Mars
Rocky (silicate) outer parts
(crust and mantle) and inner
cores of Fe-Ni metal.
Silicates (SiO
2
) and the oxides
of other metals.
Common silicates:
Olivine: (Mg,Fe)SiO
4

Pyroxene: (Mg,Ca,Fe)
2
Si
2
O
6

feldspar (e.g., (Na,K)AlSi
3
O
8
)
mica (e.g., biotite
K(Mg,Fe)
3
AlSi
3
O
10
(OH)).
Venus, Mercury and Mars
much like Earth
Geology and Composition of Inner planets (The Rocks)
very different from Outer planets (The Gas Giants)
Our Solar System
Sorry Pluto
Demoted!
Small and Large Planets
Saturnset on Titan?
Solar System Formation

Summary of Planet Formation
The mass Sun over 99% of the Solar System.
Solar nebula had a solar composition.
The Gas Giant planets formed early from
the H and He gases like the Sun.
The inner planets form after the gas had
dissipated from the inner solar system.
H, He, C, and N not major constituents of
planet as whole.
High temperatures in the inner solar
system delayed planet formation.
Observations from Meteorites
Much of the evidence for how the
solar system formed comes from
meteorites.
Most come from asteroids of the
asteroid belt (e.g., Eros). A few from
Mars and the Moon.
Most meteorites give ages close to
4.56 Ga by most dating methods.
(Ga = billion years)
Small group of achondrites give
much younger ages (e.g., 1.3 Ga).
These meteorites are thought to be
from Mars.
Bombardment From Space
For the first half billion years of its existence, the
surface of the Earth was repeatedly pulverized by
asteroids and comets of all sizes
One of these collisions formed the Moon
63,500YBP 100 deep
550 diameter
Leon County Marquez 56 MYBP 8 mile diameter
The Moon
No other planet has such a relatively big moon
Moon has only a very small iron core
Moon has a bulk density about the same as the
Earths mantle (Highly depleted in gaseous
elements)
Has identical oxygen isotope composition to
the Earth
Bottom line: Earth and Moon probably have a
shared history
Giant Impact Hypothesis
Idea in a nutshell:
Body about 1/10 the mass
of Earth struck the half or
more accreted Earth with
core had at least partially
formed. About 60 million
years after first creation
Material, mainly from
silicate mantle, is blasted
into orbit around the
Earth, eventually
accreting to form the
Moon.
Formation of the Moon
This collision had to be very spectacular!
A considerable amount of material was blown off
into space, but most fell back onto the Earth
Formation of the Moon
Part of the material from the collision remained
in orbit around the Earth
By the process collision and accretion, this
orbiting material coalesced into the Moon
The early Moon orbited very close to the Earth
Chelyabinsk, Russia February 15, 2013
Earth continues to gain
mass by accretion,
picking up 100,000 kg
from meteors every day
Regional Meteor Craters
Evidence: Orion Nebula
Third star down on
Orions scabbard
100 light years
across (1 light year
equals 6 trillion
miles)
Reflection of dust
and hydrogen
Infrared Image,
Orion Nebula
(NASA et. Al)
The Orion Nebula
California Nebula,
NASA image
In Milky Way,
Orion Arm,
1500 light years
away
100 light years
long
Dust in Orion Nebula
Copyright Nicolas Villegas
Evidence: Collapsed nebulae discs
found in the Orion nebula
Gaseous disks are
circling proto-
suns.
2-17 times larger
than our solar
system
About 153
protoplanetary
disks found in the
Orion Nebula
Early Earth
Homogenous
Very hot

The Early Earth Heats Up
1. Collisions (Transfer of
kinetic energy into
heat)
2. Compression
3. Radioactivity of
elements (e.g. uranium,
potassium, or thorium)
Three major factors that caused heating and melting
in the early Earths interior:
The Core
About 100 million years after initial accretion,
temperatures at depths of 400 to 800 km below the
Earths surface reach the melting point of iron
In a process called planetary
differentiation, the heavier
elements, including the
melted iron, began to sink
down into the core of the
Earth, while the lighter
elements such as oxygen
and silica floated up towards
the surface
Early Earths Magma Ocean
1000 km ?
Core formation
from
Magma Ocean
Heavier Fe and Ni
begin to sink out of
the homogeneous
Magma Ocean
toward Core
Planetary
Differentiation

Separation by
Gravity like
Salad dressing

Convection - material
movement heat
transfer
Differentiation
The process by
which heavy
materials sink
towards center and
lighter materials stay
near the surface
Planetary Differentiation
Planetary differentiation was completed by about 4.3
billion years ago, and the Earth had developed a inner
and outer core, a mantle and crust
The layered structure of Earth
Atmosphere and
Hydrosphere

Low Density Crust (6-35 km
thick)

Intermediate Density Mantle
(~3000 km thick)

High density core (~3000 km
thick)
Liquid outer core
Solid inner core
Differentiation
Explains relative densities of parts of Earth
Larger amounts of dense elements are
found in the Earth as a whole rather than
in the crust
Earths Layers
Thickness
(km)
Volume
10
27
cm
3

Density
g/cc
Mass
10
27
kg
Mass
Percent
Atmosphere 0.000005 0.00009
Hydrosphere 3.80 0.00137 1.03 0.00141 0.024
Crust 17 0.008 2.8 0.024 0.4
Mantle 2883 0.899 4.5 4.016 67.2
Core 3471 0.175 11.0 1.936 32.4
All 6371 1.083 5.52 5.976 100.00
Objectives Chapter 9
Explain the Nebula Theory of the creation of the
Earth and our solar system
List the resulting differences in the geology of
the planets of the solar system
Describe how the internal structure of the Earth
developed
Define why the formation of continental crust is
less fully understood than oceanic crust
Formation of Crust
Impacts of accretion, especially the one
that lead to creation of Moon, early Earth
covered with sea of hot, molten magma.
Nuclear reactor grows as planet grows
Much more energetic then
Earths Nuclear Engine
Slowing Down
Earliest Crust
As Earth cooled, minerals and elements in
magma became concentrated by density
Early crust formed as soon as upper layer
began to cool
This crust was similar to the basaltic crust
that is found under the oceans today
Pieces of early crust were recycled no
survivors
However the process is the same
Age of the Oceanic Crust
Continental Crust
Early crustal pieces carried water
Introduction of water was essential for
formation of first continental crust
Water reacted with mantle material and was
less dense than original crustal pieces
Continental Crust
Requires more differentiation to get lighter
granites, andesities, and rhyolites from
remelted basalts
How did plate tectonics get started if only
oceanic crust?
Hot spot plumes reheating?
Water also required for remelting
Do not know for sure how the first
continental crust reformed from oceanic

Continental Crust
Do know from a grain of
sand in Australia that
felsic magma and thus
Continental crust started
to form 4.4 BYBP

During Archean Eon Cratons the first
continents form, now make up 10% of Earths
continents and form the hearts of them
Granite-rich cores extend into the mantle as
deep as 200 km
Continental Crust Summary

Thick (30-60km),
Old (250 - 4000 my),
Light ( = 2.75 g/cm3)
Silicic (dioritic to granitic in
composition).
Stable, ancient interiors called
cratons.
Grows at active margins.
Does not bow to any plate, does
not subduct.
Difference Crust Formation
Oceanic crust - 60% of surface
Young (Oldest 180 million years)
Dense remelted mantle (Peridotite)
Continental crust
Older (To 4.4 billion years)
Intermediate and felsic rocks
Recipe more complex but best decribed as
reworked oceanic crust
Water required also
First continental crust 150 MMY after Oceanic
Objectives Chapter 9
Explain the Nebula Theory of the creation of the
Earth and our solar system
List the resulting differences in the geology of
the planets of the solar system
Describe how the internal structure of the Earth
developed
Define why the formation of continental crust is
less fully understood than oceanic crust
List the probable sources of water on the Earth
Source of Earths Water
Earth formed in water zone of solar nebula
Earth accreted in part from wet rocks
Water appears to be present 4.4 billion
years ago
Some water continues to arrive with
meteors
Dirty ice balls (comets) also deliver some
Recent comets tested have different
hydrogen isotope mix however (Hailey,
Hale-Bopp, Hyakutake)
Comparison - Ratio water isotopes between comets, meteorites, and Earth
Astronomers also
hypothesize that
comets impacting the
Earth were a major
source of water that
contributed to creation
of the oceans
Remember, that
comets are best
described as dirty ice
balls
Creating the Oceans
It is hypothesized that water vapor escaping from
the interior of the Earth via countless volcanic
eruptions created the oceans (this took hundreds
of millions of years)
Creating the Oceans
Creating the Oceans
The earliest evidence of surface water on
Earth dates back about 3.8 billion years
Objectives Chapter 9
Explain the Nebula Theory of the creation of the
Earth and our solar system
List the resulting differences in the geology of
the planets of the solar system
Describe how the internal structure of the Earth
developed
Define why the formation of continental crust is
less fully understood than oceanic crust
List the probable sources of water on the Earth
Objectives Chapter 10
Define convection.
Describe how convection works in the
mantle of the Earth and its effects
Explain the cause and result of motion in
the outer core of the Earth
Define magnetic field reversal